Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts 4:12.
My wife and I hope that our Blog may be used as a tool to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. We desire to minister His message of salvation to anyone who is willing to hear us. We believe His free gift of salvation is available to all, and we invite whosoever will to come and take freely of the water of life, Revelation 22:17.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

2nd John Part 1

1:1 The elder unto
the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but
also all they that have known the truth;

Though a number of scholars believe the beginning of this
verse is in reference to “John the Elder” a disciple of John’s, I don’t believe
such an explanation is necessary. John is merely, through his letter, reminding
the saint he is writing of his position in the church. Like Peter he is a
fellow elder among other things, 1st Peter 5:1.

I would like to address the concept of the elder in the
church at some length. I have already noted that the title “pastor” is
referenced only once in the KJV or NKJV NT in Ephesians 4:11. This appears to
rather be another name for elder, as Acts 20:17, 28 indicate. One looks in vain
for further mention of the term “pastor” in the New Testament. Rather, we find
the ordination of elders throughout the Roman world wherever the church spread.
Whenever Paul passed through a city he appointed not pastors, but elders in the
church, Acts 14:23. When the great debate about keeping the Law of Moses arose
in the church it was to the apostles and elders of Jerusalem that the contention
was brought, Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22. The matter was settled by the apostles, the
elders, and the brethren (or whole church), Acts 15:22-23.

We find listed in 1st Timothy the criteria for becoming a
bishop, synonymous with being an elder, 1st Timothy 3:1-8; Titus 1:5-9. In fact
Titus 1:5 declares that Titus was commanded by Paul to appoint elders, also
called bishops in verse 7, in every city. Titus wasn’t a pastor, but rather
apparently a traveling evangelist and church planter with Paul, who was helping
to strengthen the recently founded churches in Crete by providing doctrinal
direction and finding men with impeachable characters by whom each local church
could be led; not by one single man, but by a plurality of elders. Verse 5 is
explicit: elders ought to be appointed in every city (every church). Paul adds
that elders who rule well ought to be counted worthy of double honor, 1st
Timothy 5:17; the elders who have been called to labor in the word especially.

Peter states the same thing when he calls on his fellow
elders to shepherd the church of God they have been entrusted over serving as
overseers willingly and eagerly, 1st Peter 5:2. Nor are elders meant to be
lords over the flock entrusted to them, verse 3. This is the same language Paul
addresses the Ephesian elders with (Acts 20:17) when he says, “Therefore
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the
church of God which He purchased with His own blood,” Acts 20:28.

The letter to the Philippians is written to “all
the saints who are in Philippi, with the bishops (elders) and deacons,”
Philippians 1:1. All of Paul’s letters otherwise are addressed to individuals
or to all the saints, or simply, the church. The glaring absence of a pastor as
we define one today is, I think, highly conspicuous.

We notice this pattern in embryo during Jesus’ earthly
ministry. He chose not one but twelve apostles and they were equals. He said
men have one Teacher (Christ) and all were brethren, Matthew 23:8-10. Calling
anyone “father” in the sense that it elevates him above the congregation in
esteem is breaking the plain command of Christ. The RCC, Lutherans and many
others clearly reject Jesus’ command not to clothe anyone with titles Jesus
reserved for Himself. Christ wanted to force the clergy/laity mindset from our
heads and place the congregants on equal footing. The Pope stands in the
precarious position of being elevated where no man ought to be, and it stands
in stark contrast to God’s revealed word about the responsibility and function
of an elder. Likewise, a pastor can easily be (and tends to be from my own
experience) a private Pope in his own church, incapable of reproof since they
alone stand over their flock.